Torn Between Two
by One Girl's Imagination
Summary: Sequel to Party Fun! Lara finds out that Alistair likes her. Kurtis is fuming. A story of love, friendship and action. The story is better than the summary.
1. Hospital

_**Tada! The sequel to Party Fun! This is going to be a blast. If you haven't read Party Fun! yet, then I suggest you do because it will probably make more sense when your reading this one. But, you don't have to. OK then. Let's get started. **_

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Lara lay in the hospital bed sleeping peacefully.

'How is she?' Anaya asked as she approached Doctor Cruse.

'Everything is in order so she should be fine.' Dr.Cruse smiled. Anaya walked over to Lara's bedside. She grabbed one of the chairs and sat. Her eyes drifted towards the machine as low steady beeping noises echoed around the room. She watched as Lara's pulse rate jump between 68 and 70. She checked all the vital status before looking back at Lara.

'What are we ever going to do with you, eh? You have got to stop putting your life on the line Lara. I mean, you go and get yourself killed, go missing and then don't even trust us. What's going on in that head of yours? Well, I'm not going to allow myself to sit here and wonder all day. I'm going to fetch Kurtis. Maybe he'll be able to see what's happening in your head.' Anaya murmured. She got up out of the chair and walked over to the door. She took one last look at Lara before heading back to the waiting room. Amanda was reading a Cosmopolitan magazine. Zip and Kurtis were having a thumb war. She simply raised an eyebrow at them.

'Where's Alistair?' She asked curiously. Amanda put down the magazine and smiled at her.

'The doctors said that he was free to go home. He's just getting changed and collecting whatever else he had.' Amanda answered the question. Anaya nodded before turning to the boys. They seemed to be lost in their little game. She sighed before attempting to get their attention.

'Guys.' She said…No reply.

'Guys.' She called out again. Still no reply.

'GUYS!' She shouted. They nearly jumped out of their skin.

'Finally. You can finish your little game later but for now, I need you to come and see Lara. You too Amanda.' Anaya spoke as she headed for the door. They followed her. The four reached the door and Anaya led them in. Lara hadn't moved from the position Anaya had last saw her in. Lying flat on her back with her head facing the ceiling. Anaya sat back in her seat while the others grabbed chairs. Anaya saw that her pulse had lowered to 63.

'Kurtis, do you think you can go into her mind and see what's going on?' Anaya asked.

'I don't see why not.' Kurtis replied. Anaya moved out of the way so he could get to Lara easier. He placed his hands either side of her face before closing his eyes. Images began to flow through his head. Until finally, he began to see Lara's dream.

_**Oooooooo! What is Kurtis going to see? Review please. **_


	2. The Dream

_**Chapter 2 if here! Hope you enjoy. Also, review I would love some ideas. Let me know what YOU want in the story. **_

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After seconds, Kurtis began to see Lara's dream.

'**Momma? Can I go horse riding?' A young version of Lara asked. She was wearing a blue frilly skirt with a sleeve-less Tee. She wore a pair of white flip flops which were decorated with purple flowers. Her hair was up in two perfect little piggy tails. Using pink bobbles to keep them in place. **

'**Sweetie, you can as long as you take Winston or your Father along with you.' Lara's mother, Amelia, spoke back to young Lara. He mother wore a dark blue suit and had her dark hair wrapped up in a bun. She was obviously getting ready to go out on a business trip. **

'**OK Momma. I think I'll get Daddy. Winston always stops me from riding by the Lake but Daddy doesn't. Lara gleamed. Amelia laughed at her daughter. Lara then skipped down the hall to her Fathers office. She knocked politely on the door before slowly opening it. She squeezed her head around the corner to see her Father sitting at his desk. He had his head resting on his left hand as he flicked through some pages if a book. He looked up to see Lara smiling at him. He immediately smiled back.**

'**Hehe. I can always put a smile on your face Daddy.' Lara said as she ran up to her Father. He opened his arms and Lara dived into them and into a hug. **

'**Daddy? Will you come horse riding please?' Lara asked with a puppy dog pout.**

'**Oh Sweetheart. You now I would if I could but I'm very busy right now. I promise to come out later.' He smiled. Lara bit her bottom lip before answering. **

'**OK Daddy, I know you're a really busy bee. I'll just get Winston.' She smiled but lowered her voice at the end of the sentence. Her Father just laughed at her. With that, she ran out of the room and down to the kitchen. Winston was preparing a Tuna sandwich. **

'**Winnnnstooonnnn…Will you come horse riding with me pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?' Lara swayed side to side. Winston looked up from the sandwich.**

'**Lara…' He was cut off by Amelia entering the room.**

'**Winston, we have a guest coming. Would you be able to get a room ready? Her name is Kazia Kyocera. She's Japanese and works for D-Corporation.' Amelia asked as she walked in. Lara looked up at her Mother with sad eyes. If Winston and her Father couldn't take her horse riding, then no one could. She wasn't allowed to go alone. **

'**Yes Lady Croft. I'll do it straight away.' Winston nodded. He handed the Tuna sandwich to Amelia before leaving.**

'**I'm sorry Lara. I know you wanted to go Horse riding but if we don't get a room ready for Kazia, where will she sleep or live for the next **

**6 months?' Amelia smiled softly at her daughter. Lara looked down at the floor before smiling sweetly at her Mother. She then hurried out of the kitchen and up into her room. She walked over to the CD player and popped in 'Barbie Girl'. The tune filled the room and Lara jumped onto her bed. She grabbed her favourite teddy and began to bounce on the bed. She sang along with every word. She loved this song to bits. When she was bored, she would always listen to it. She bounced down off her bed and began to do the 'twist' on her bedroom floor. **

'**I'm a Barbie girl, In a Barbie World. Life in plastic. It's fantastic. You can brush my hair. Undress me everywhere. Imagination, life is your creation!' Lara sang. The song finally came to a stop and Lara fell back onto her bed smiling. She held her teddy above her head. **

'**Oh Teddy, isn't that a great song!' She smiled at it. She plopped the teddy on her pillow and walked over to the CD player. She took the CD out a placed it neatly in its CD case. She switched it off and walked back over to her bed. She flopped down onto her bed again.**

'**What to do, what to do?' Lara questioned herself in a bored tone. She sighed and got up off her bed. She started to tick off activities on her fingers.**

'**Swim? No. Dance? No. TV? No. Book? No. Dear me, there's absolutely nothing to do. Everybody's to busy 'working'.' Lara moaned and air quoted the word working. Lara almost hit the ceiling as a high pitched scream rang through the Manor. She rushed over to her door and almost pulled it off its hinges when trying to get it open. She ran over to the staircase and glanced over the edge. All that stared back was beige tiles. She tiptoed down the stairs. Not wanting to attract and unwanted company. She heard some muttering in the distance. She focused her ears on the voices. **

'_**Kitchen' **_**She****thought to herself. She quietly walked over to the kitchen. The door was closed. She slowly placed her ear against the door. The talking became clearer to her now. **

'**What shall we do about the girl?' A male voice spoke. **

'**Who? Lara?' Another voice asked. **

'**Yes you idiot. Who else? Her Mom's in the Freezer with the Butler. He Fathers locked in his office. There's no one left.' The first voice muttered. She head them say something else but couldn't make out what it was. She only heard the 'kill'. This caused her to gasp rather loudly. She quickly covered her mouth in shock. She ran away from the door as she heard footsteps coming towards it. She jumped under the Coffee table. It was lucky that there was a table cloth over it. Otherwise, she would have no chance hiding. She lifted it up a bit and peeped out. She was able to catch a glimpse of a tall man, black suit and light blonde hair. She recognised him instantly.**

'**Mr. Daniels!' Lara whispered to herself. Mr.Daniels had worked for her Father for a few years now. Searching for Artefacts across the Globe and joining her Father on trips to places like Cambodia and Vietnam. She had always though him as a gentle man. Now she hated him for breaking into their house and locking up her parents and Winston. She watched as Mr.Daniels searched the room. He stepped up to the Coffee table. Lara held her breath. After a few seconds he walked away and back into the kitchen. She crawled out from underneath the table and ran straight for the stairs. She ran back up to her room. She slowly closed the door and leant against it breathing heavily. She had to get out of here and quick. Her room is one of the first places they'd look for her. She ran over to her toy box and began to look for anything useful. She pulled out a water gun, plastic knives and a set of rope ladders. She rushed over to her window. Lara unlocked it and attached one end of the rope ladder onto her window ledge. She then let it fall down the side of her house. It wasn't quite long enough. Almost 5 metres off the ground. Lara wasn't too worried about that now. She grabbed her purple bubble bag and placed a few things in there. She placed in on her back before running over to her bed to grab Teddy. She then went back over to her window. She looked down making sure there was no one there. It was all clear. She slowly lowered herself out and onto the rope. After she had a firm grip, she climbed down the ladder. When she couldn't find anymore foot room, she looked down to see that she had reached the end of the ladder. She huffed before closing her eyes. She looked back up at her window before letting go of the ladder. She fell back onto her legs and landed on her back. The bubble bag softened her landing though. She rolled onto her hands and picked herself up. She then ran into the bushes. She pushed the branched out the way as she ran towards the entrance gate. She stopped in her tracks as she heard a click from behind her. She slowly turned herself around and came face to face with a creature so horrible. Even a nightmare seemed like a happy dream. Its eyes were pure yellow. Its skin was a pale green and had black dots here and there. Slime slid down the creatures body. Its mouth had 3 inch long fangs coming out of it. It had what almost looked like talons on its hand as sharp as a drawing pin. Just like Raptors. The creature opened its mouth and raised its claw. It went to attack but Lara spun on her heels and sprinted towards the gate. She exited the bushes so she couldn't trip over anything. She could hear the creature screeching behind her. She then heard the flapping of wings. She looked up to see the creature flying above her. She screamed for her life. Hoping someone would come and save her. The creature swooped down and grabbed Lara by the shoulders. It picked her up into the air as Lara kicked out. She tried to wriggle out of its grasp. It carried on flying until it reached about 55ft in the air. It stopped in mid air. Lara was still squirming. She looked up to see it looking down at her. She could fell its grip tightening on her. She squealed out in pain as its claws broke through her skin. A tear slid down her face. It carried on flying again. She watched as the houses flew by. Only one question on her mind. Where is it taking me? Lara didn't really want to find out. She raised her hands and dug her own nails into the creatures claws. It screamed out in pain. It released Lara from its grasp and she began to fall. She screamed as she plummeted towards the hard floor. 40ft, 35ft, 15ft, 10ft, 3ft…**

Kurtis snapped away from her. He stared at her in shock. How could someone fall that far and live.

'What did you see?' Anaya asked. Kurtis looked at her with wide eyes. All of a sudden, Lara's heart monitor began to bleep faster and louder. They all looked at it to see Lara's heart rate at 200 and her pulse at 150.

'That's not right!' Amanda screamed. She ran over to the emergency cable and pulled as hard as she could. Anaya ran out into the hallway and called out for help. Kurtis jumped to Lara's side and tried talking to her.

'Come on Lara. Wake up! Wake up Lara! I can't loose you again!' Kurtis began to yell. All hell broke loose then. Nurses and doctors flooded into the room. Anaya, Amanda, Zip and Kurtis were all pushed out. They looked back at Lara as the doctors injected her and began to do things. Everything went in slow motion as tears ran down their faces and everyone ran to her bedside. They were finally in the hallway. Amanda attempted to look through the glass but the nurse drew the curtains. They ran back to the door and pushed their ear against it. They heard the doctors dishing out orders and shouting. They then focused their hearing on the bleeping. Their eyes widened in shock as the bleeping slowed and slowed and slowed and finally came to a stop. Everything in the room went silent. Only a few sighs were heard. A few weeps as well. Only a long bleep echoed through the room.

_**Mwaha! Cliffy again! I know I keep killing Lara but in a way, it's fun. Everything gets emotional and hectic. Come on, you don't want a boring story do you. Do you? Joke! Don't worry about a thing. I won't do anything drastic to anymore of the characters…unless you review! xxx**_


	3. Waiting

_**Hello again. Enjoying the story? Review and tell me please. It only takes a few seconds to. Please and thank you. On with Chapter 3…**_

'NO!' Amanda cried as she kicked the door down. They all ran into the room. The Nurses pushed them back as the Doctors attempted to revive Lara. They watched in slow motion as everyone buzzed around the room. They pushed them back out of the room and slammed the door to. Amanda slid down the wall and hugged her knees to her chest. She began to rock back and forth.

'No, no, no, no, no. She can't die.' Amanda burst in to tears.

'She was my best friend!' Amanda wept into Anaya's shoulder. More paramedics came running down the hallway and ran into Lara's room.

'GODDAMMIT!' They all heard one of the Doctors shout. Anaya hugged Amanda close while she cried.

'Everything's going to be fine. Lara's strong. She'll make it through this.' Anaya whispered to Amanda.

'But what if this is the last straw! She might not get a second chance! Not many people do at death. It's one in a million chance!' Amanda croaked.

'Lara is that one in a million. Look at what she does. She's swum with sharks, Crocs, eels. She has been through Lava. Fought Dinosaurs. Been poisoned and even battled Ancient Gods. If Lara can survive that, she can survive this.' Amanda began to calm down as Anaya went over this.

'I guess so. All we can do now is…hope and pray that she'll be OK.' Amanda sighed as she stood up with Anaya. They all nodded. They stood there in silence for 5 minutes before Alistair and Winston walked up to them.

'So, how's Lara?' Alistair asked with a smile. Zip looked up at him.

'Aww, man. It aint good. Their struggling to keep her alive.' Zip sighed.

'KEEP HER ALIVE?! SHE'S BLOODY DEAD!' Amanda almost blew up. Alistair's face dropped instantly.

'D…dead?' He asked. His tone lingering with sadness.

'YES! DEAD!' Amanda shouted.

'Whoa! Calm down Mandy.' Anaya butted in. Amanda shook her head before taking off down the hall. Anaya looked back at the boys before running after her.

'Amanda, wait!' She called after her. The boys watched as they disappeared down the hall and out of view. Winston walked up to the door and knocked gently on it. After a couple of seconds, a Nurse answered.

'Yes?' She asked

'How is Lady Croft doing?' Winston questioned. The Nurse slightly shook her head before closing the door and running back over to Lara. Winston sighed.

'She will be missed.' Winston said to them. With that, they all slowly headed towards the waiting room.

_**Hehe. Review. xxx **_


	4. Come Home

_**Awesome! Hello! Hi! Woo! Haha! I'm so happy. I don't know why though. No, I'm not a mad person. At least I don't think I am. Joke. So anyway, enjoy this Chapter. Warning: This Chapter is a happy one. So, don't expect any action or violence. Hehe. Enjoy!**_

They waited in the waiting room for about half an hour before Anaya and Amanda joined them.

'So, any news?' Anaya asked as she took a seat opposite Alistair.

'No, not yet. But things don't look good.' Zip muttered. He began to flick through a sports car magazine. Anaya nodded to herself. Amanda pulled out her mirror, flicked it open and looked at her reflection in disgust.

'Oh My God! I look terrible.' Amanda gasped. Anaya chuckled.

'No you don't Mand. You look fine. Just ignore the Mascara lines down your Rose red cheeks. And that your hair looks like a big fluff ball.' They all laughed at Anaya's remark, except Amanda. She simply nudged Anaya and mumbled something under her breath. She then proceeded to untangle her hair and clean her face. A Nurse then entered the room.

'Are you friends of Lara Croft?' She asked them.

'Yes Ma'am.' Winston smiled. She slowly nodded. She wasn't used to being called Ma'am.

'Come with me please.' She motioned for them to exit the room. They all followed her back up to Lara's room. The Nurse knocked on the door. Dr.Cruse answered it. A huge smile covered her face. The mood in the group lightened as well.

'Do come in. But please be quiet.' Dr.Cruse whispered. They did as they were told.

'Why?' Alistair whispered as he passed Dr.Cruse.

'Because…' She walked over to the curtain that surrounded Lara's bed. She pulled it round to reveal a sleeping Lara. The bleeping noise filled the room again. Indicating that Lara was breathing. Tears of joy flowed down Anaya's face. They immediately walked over to Lara. Her features were soft which meant she was dreaming of something happy. They all sat around Lara's bedside for a good 2hours. Not one of them breaking the silence that filled the room, except the occasional bleep from the monitor. They sat watching Lara as she slept.

'Visiting hours are over. Please come back tomorrow at 5:00 pm. Have a nice night.' A Doctor aid as she popped her head around the door.

'Well then, best go. See ya tomorrow Lara. Be safe.' Zip yawned. They said their goodbyes to the sleeping Lara before heading back to Anaya's car. They all strapped themselves in and Anaya drove off into the warm summer night.

The next day. They all sat around the dining table, waiting patiently for Winston to bring them their breakfast. Alistair, Anaya and Amanda were caught up in their little conversation about plats and animals. Zip and Kurtis sat watching as the conversation started to become an argument.

'Puppies are way cuter than Kittens!' Amanda fought.

'NO WAY IS THAT TRUE! Kittens are adorable. Puppies can grow up to become little ugly bleeders. Cats stay true to you.' Alistair bickered.

'Both are cute! OK! Now stop this argument before I blow up!' Anaya shouted.

'Fine.' Amanda and Alistair mumbled in unison. _**Ring-ring-ring-ring**_. The phone continued to ring.

'I'll get it!' Amanda said as she galloped out of her seat and towards the phone.

'Hello?' She asked in a childish tone.

'Good Morning. I am led to believe that this is Croft Manor I am speaking to.' A male voice came through the phone.

'Well you not talking to the Manor but you're talking to a person inside it.' Amanda joked.

'Well, yes. Of course. Very well then. I have some important news for Lady Lara Croft. May I speak to her?' The man asked.

'I'm terribly sorry Sir. She's not here at the moment. She's in hospital. I can pass a message along for you if you want. Or would you rather…' Amanda was cut off.

'No no no. That won't be necessary. I shall ring back later.' With that, he hung up. Amanda looked at the phone quizzically before putting t back down.

'Who was that?' Zip asked as she sat back down.

'Some guy asking for Lara.' She replied.

'Right. Did he leave a message?' Zip pondered on.

'No. He didn't want to. Must be private.' Amanda said as she played with her hair.

'Yep. Probably her new boyfriend.' Zip immediately regretted it when he got a death glare from Alistair.

'Lara does not have a boyfriend of any kind.' Alistair spat. Zip merely rolled his eyes.

'If ya say so 'Lord KnowItAll'.' Zip muttered. The phone rang again. This time Alistair answered it.

'Croft Manor?' A voice called down the phone.

'Uh…yes.' Alistair said.

'It's St.Marys Hospital.' The voice spoke again.

'Ah yes! How is Lara?' Alistair smiled.

'That's why I phoned. Lara is now free to leave the hospital. Feel free to pick her up any time today.' Alistair almost started to happy dance.

'Thank you so much. We'll be there as soon as possible.' Alistair replied excitedly. He then hung up the phone and practically jumped back to the table.

'What are you so happy about?' Zip raised an eyebrow at him.

'Lara's free to come back home. We can pick her up anytime today.' Alistair almost bounced in his seat. The girls squealed. Smiled plastered on their faces.

'Lets go get her now. I can't wait to see her! And actually talk to her.' Amanda giggled.

'What about breakfast?' Anaya asked.

'We can all have it together when Lara comes home.' Alistair gleamed.

'Yeah. That'd be great.' Zip butted in. Kurtis went off to tell Winston the news before following the rest of them out to Anaya's car. She started the car up and sped all the way to the hospital.

When they arrived, Doctor Cruse was waiting outside for them. She greeted them with a smile before leading them up to a different room.

'She's ready to go now.' The Doctor smiled.

'Thank you.' Anaya sighed partly in relief that Lara was OK and that she was free to come home. They all walked into the room to see Lara sitting on an oversized blue and purple leather chair. She was flicking through a magazine.

'Lara…' Amanda approached her slowly. Lara looked up from her magazine and instantly smiled when she saw her face. She pulled herself up out of the chair and locked Amanda in a tight embrace.

'It's so good to see you.' Lara smiled.

'You too.' Amanda whispered into her ear.

_**There we are. Everyone is happy. Lara is alive and not mental! YAY! I'll continue writing in a bit but for now, I think I'll go and make a smooothie. Review. **_


	5. Who?

_**I haven't got much to say but Thank You to everyone that has reviewed. Here's Chapter 5.**_

'Lara!' Zip embraced her in a hug.

'Hello, Zip. I guess you missed me?' Lara smiled.

'No, not really. HA! Who am I kiddin'? It's actually been kinda boring with out cha.' Zip said as he ruffled her hair. Lara smiled.

'Always the Joker.' Lara laughed. Anaya came over next.

'Lara, it's so lovely to see you happy and smiling.' Anaya hugged her too.

'Missed you.' Lara chuckled. Anaya and Lara then air kissed.

'Been doing that since they met a University.' Amanda squeaked. They all laughed. Alistair stood in the door way. Looking down at the floor.

'Alistair?' Lara asked. He slowly looked up before literally jumping at her. He instantly wrapped her into a hug.

'Oh Lara. I've missed you so so SO much. After I heard what happened to you, things looked for the worse but now…WOW! I can't believe it. Lara Croft seems to never give up. You'll never let yourself die. You're amazing Lara. Truly amazing.' Alistair almost began to cry.

'OK. Missed you too Alistair.' Lara giggled. Zip cleared his throat. Alistair backed off Lara and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. Zip watched in amusement. He loved embarrassing him. Alistair shock him a quick glance before looking back at Lara. She seemed to be using the chair for support. Alistair was about to ask her if she was OK but Zip beat him to it.

'You OK Lara?' Zip asked.

'Yes, I'm fine.' Lara smiled at him. Zip didn't believe her. Frankly, everyone else didn't either.

'You don't look it. What's wrong with your leg?' Zip questioned.

'My leg is fine Zip. Truly.' Lara breathed. Zip shook his head.

'Why are you using the chair for support then?' Zip carried on. Amanda could see that Lara was becoming uneasy.

'Soooooooooooo…Best get home. I'm starved. Let's go see I Winston has finished our breakfast.' Amanda grinned.

'Yeah, sounds good.' Zip laughed. Even Lara nodded too.

'I'll be glad to get tout of this place.' She giggled. They all headed for the door. Anaya, Amanda, Alistair, Zip and then Kurtis. Lara attempted to follow them but didn't have much luck. As she put her right leg on the floor, she collapsed. She hit the floor in agony. She gripped her right leg in pain.

'GAH!' Lara shouted. They all immediately spun round. Zip and Kurtis ran to her side.

'Gosh Lara!' Zip shouted. A stray tear slid down her face. They knew she must be in a lot of pain now. Lara never used to cry unless the damage was bad. She gets shot and never cries. Not once. Se falls off cliffs, no crying. She gets battered by a huge spider, no crying. This is something serious. Kurtis pulled Lara into his arms. As he did so, Zip noticed a series of bruises on her thigh. He looked up at Kurtis who seemed to be looking at him. Zip looked back at her leg. He pulled the night dress up slightly more until he saw something he wished he hadn't. There was a deep blooded gash at the top of her right thigh. It had to be about an inch deep. Zip looked away in shock. Kurtis also looked down to see the cut. His eyes widened and he looked back at Lara.

'Lara, who did this?' Zip asked. Lara looked away from them. She bit her bottom lip as another tear slipped down her cheek.

'Lara?' Amanda approached her. Lara coughed before answering.

'It was…'

_**Oooo. Cliffy. Who was it? You shall find out later. But for now. My programs are on. Lol. Big Brother and so on. HA! Review please.**_


	6. Havoc

_**I am 99 sure that this is going to be an action packed chapter. So hope you like it! Review please. xxx**_

Lara wasn't able to finish her sentence as guns shots roared through the hospital.

'DOWN!' Zip shouted over the noise. They all jumped to the floor.

'What the bloody hell is going on?!' Alistair bellowed. After a few seconds, the gun shots settled. Amanda crawled over to the door. She got up onto her knees and peeked out of the window. She looked like a kid trying to look over a shop counter. She saw a few men wearing navy blue suits holding MP5's. All of them wore black shades. A blonde one looked over at Amanda. She instantly ducked and pressed her back up against the door. She cursed to herself. She raised a finger to her lips. Signalling them to quiet. They all nodded. The lads in the hallway began to talk.

'So…any sign of Croft?' A low voice spoke.

'No, not yet. Boss said that she should be here.' Another chuckled.

'How did he find out?' The first one spoke again.

'Some woman over the phone told him. From Croft Manor. How lucky's that?' They both laughed. Amanda closed her eyes and mentally hit herself.

'_Flippin' heck! Well done Evert, you're probably going to get killed now. Why didn't you just keep you're big gob shut. You stupid bloody bitch. I can't believe I was so careless.' _Amanda mentally shouted at herself. She slowly opened her eyes. Kurtis seemed to be staring at her. She looked to her left before looking back at him. He began to shake his head.

'_I can read your mind Amanda. I'm telepathic, remember?' _Amanda stared wide eyed at him. She pursed her lips before giggling slightly. How could she have forgotten? A voice spoke outside the door again.

'Croft! I know you're here. No point hiding you silly little girl. Come on Croft, or I'll kill your little friend here. Speak now!' A familiar voice shouted.

'L…Lady Croft?' Winston whimpered.

'No!' Lara whispered to herself. Lara swallowed before speaking.

'Let me go.' She whispered to them.

'No way are we letting you out there, man. Look at the state of you. You'll have no chance.' Zip whispered sharply.

'Please. They'll kill Winston and…and I can't think what I'd do without him…he's my best friend.' Lara whispered softly. Ignoring the tone of Zip's voice. They all looked at each other before Anaya spoke.

'Lara…they'll kill both of you.' Anaya sighed.

'That's a risk I'm willing to take.' Lara smiled slightly. Zip and Alistair were shaking their head.

'She knows what she's doing!' Amanda whispered harshly to them.

'Calm down!' Alistair almost screamed.

'What are you yelling about?' Kurtis glanced at them. The looked away in embarrassment. He looked back down at Lara. He saw plead in her sparkling Brown eyes. He slowly nodded before releasing his grip on her. She slowly slid out of his arms and crawled over to the door. She used the table next to it to lift herself up.

'Ah!' She whimpered as she put pressure on her leg.

'Croft. You got 5 seconds. 4…3…2…' The voice laughed madly.

'I'm here.' She managed as she opened the door. She leaned against the frame for support.

'Ah, Croft. Lovely to see you again. Missed you dearly.' The dark headed man said sarcastically.

Lara growled.

'Tut tut tut tut. No need to get feisty now. Be a good girl and come over here…NOW!' He shouted. She shook her head.

'Ok then Croft.' He smiled before lifting Winston up by the neck and held a dagger up to his throat.

'This is the price that you will pay!' He was about to ram the dagger into Winston but Lara butted in.

'Wait. Don't.' Lara whispered. The man smirked.

'Is the iddy biddy Croft scared?' He said with a puppy dog pout before laughing like a freak. Lara sighed. She looked down at the shivering Winston.

'Now Croft. Give back what is rightfully mine and Butler Boy here doesn't get an unexpected death.' He smiled wickedly at her. Lara stayed silent. Thinking hard. She couldn't afford to loose such a close friend that she had all her life, but she wasn't willing to handle over his most prized possession that easily. She wasn't going to give in without a fight.

'You know what happened before Lara.' He nodded towards her thigh. Lara looked down to see blood trickling down her leg. Her eyes widened in shock.

'Yes that's right. That was one of my people. It wouldn't have happened if you had just given it to him.' He chuckled.

'Prise it from my dead hands!' Lara spat. She had no idea what she was doing. Just buying herself sometime she guessed.

'I'll be very happy to Lara. But you need to be dead for me to do that so…' He smiled before clicking his fingers. The four men standing round the hallway aimed their weapons at her.

'Enjoy.' He laughed walked off. Dragging a whimpering Winston with him. With that, Anaya burst form out the room, soon followed by the others.

'AHHHH!' Anaya screamed as she dived for the closest enemy. More men flooded around the corner.

'We can't take on all theses guys alone!' Zip shouted. They all watched as the men blocked there escapes. Amanda turned around to see more men standing in a row. Weapons pointed at them. She had a feeling they weren't going to get out of this easily.

'Croft! Get here!' One of them shouted. Lara refused to go. One of them behind her kicked her forward. She stumbled into one of the men. He grabbed her wrists and turned them behind her back. He held a gun up to her head as she faced the rest of the group. She gritted her teeth at how angry she had been caught.

'Now give us the artefact or you die. Along with your friends here.' The man spat.

'No.' Lara said simply. This man obliviously didn't have much patience. He drew his dagger, rammed in into Lara thigh and into the cut. Blood began to pour down her leg now. It started to make a small puddle around her feet.

'Lara!' Alistair shouted.

'Shut It!' One man sneered.

'Let. Lara. Go. Now.' Alistair spoke. Venom leaking in every word.

'HA! AS IF! SHE'S COMIGNWITH US!' The man shouted.

'NO!' Amanda screamed.

'Lara…they'll kill you. Just give them what they want.' Zip pleaded.

'Zip, I can't do that.' Lara sighed. The man wrapped his hand around her throat.

'Give it or I'll kill you.' The man warned.

'Dig it out my grave.' Lara spat. The man began to tighten his grip around her neck. She slowly began to feel her windpipe closing. It was getting really hard to breath. She began to gasp. Desperately trying to suck in air. The man gritted his teeth and pushed harder on her throat. Lara was not able on inhale any oxygen. He had cut her air passage off completely.

'NO! LARA!' Alistair cried. He attempted to wriggle out of the mans grasp but with no luck. Her vision began to blur and everything went fuzzy. The voices were muffled in her ear. She didn't understand a word. She felt herself going. About to leave this world behind again. NO! She wasn't going to let them kill her and her friends! She certainly wasn't going to let them get their hands on something that could destroy the world as they no it. She brought her hands up to his arm and began to pull with all her left over strength. That wasn't much at all. She was drained. He began to laugh.

'Yeah right Croft!' He laughed. He then felt a sharp pain in his head.

'GAH!' He screamed.

'What the fuck was that!' He yelled. He brought his hand up to the side of his head. When he looked at his hand, it was covered in blood.

'What the?' He baffled confused. Kurtis smiled to himself. He had used his telekinesis to pick up his dagger and ram in into the side of his head. He loosened his grip on Lara before falling to the floor. Lara fell forward. They both collapsed on the floor motionless. A few members ran over to their fallen friend. Alistair attempted to wriggle free. This time he had a bit of luck. He managed to pull his right arm free. The man wasn't able to respond quickly enough as Alistair punched him in the face. He then kicked him in the knee. The man fell backwards. Amanda, Kurtis and Anaya mimicked what Alistair's moves. Zip on the other hand managed to grab hold of the enemies knife and jab it into his stomach. The man crumpled to the floor in agony. After they got free, hell broke loose. They fired began to fire. They all dodged every bullet. Anaya, Amanda, Zip and Kurtis began to fight back against the men. Alistair ran over to Lara.

'Lara!' He shouted over all the noise. He rolled her over onto her back. Her chest was slowly rising. He sighed in relief. At least she was breathing. She grabbed hold of her shoulders and began to shake her.

'Lara…Lara! Wake up!' He yelled. He waited for any sign of movement from Lara. Nothing.

'Dammit!' He yanked her up into his arms and began to violently rock her.

'Lara! Come on. You can do it Lara. Wake up!' He placed a hand on the side of her face.

'Lara.' He said softly. He looked back at the battle. Blood was caked everywhere. Bodies lay dead or badly injured. Weapons scattered everywhere. It was a true bloodbath. Alistair looked back at Lara.

'This may be the only time I get to do this.' He whispered to himself. He lowered his face. Their lips were inched apart before Alistair captured them in a soft kiss. He picked Lara cradled her in his arms.

With on last punch to the face, the last of the men were down. Anaya, Zip, Kurtis and Amanda looked around at all the mess they had created.

'Well, at least that settles things. Everyone OK?' Anaya laughed slightly.

'Yeah. Fine' Kurtis smiled.

'I'm good. I think.' Zip cheered.

'Yep. Good Ta.' Amanda giggled. They all turned around. Before they even took two steps, thy almost fell over. Everyone's mouth dropped open and eyes widened. The sight took them by surprise. Alistair kissing Lara. Lara's eyes suddenly fluttered open. She took a moment to get used to her surroundings before noticing she was lip locking with Alistair. She screamed into his lips. Alistair jolted backward faster than you could say 'I love pudding! Anaya ran to her side. Followed by Amanda.

'Gosh Lara. You OK?' Amanda laughed. Lara looked at her with huge eyes before slowly nodding. She looked back at Alistair before turning to Anaya.

'What happened?' She gasped. Noticing the piles of men lying everywhere and blood covering every of the walls and floor.

'Let's just say…no one hurts our friend and gets away with it.' Anaya grinned. She and Amanda then attempted to help Lara to her feet. Zip ran over to help. Kurtis stared daggers at Alistair, who seemed to be watching Lara.

'_How dare he kiss my woman! The nerve of that guy I swear will get him killed! By me. HA! Yeah. That's true. He's a bloody nuisance. So mother fucking full of himself. Kiss Lara and then just sit back and relax while she struggles to get to her feet. MORON! Wait…I should be helping. Damn!' _Kurtis ran over to help Lara too. Anaya grabbed hold of her right arm, Amanda on her left. Zip and Kurtis held her around her waist.

'On 3. 1…2…3!' Anaya said. They lifted Lara slowly to her feet.

'How's that?' Anaya asked Lara. Lara took a few seconds to answer.

'Seems fine.' She smiled. Amanda and Anaya let go of her arms and stepped over to Alistair.

'Think you can manage on your own?' Zip questioned. Lara nodded.

'Sure. I think so.' She chuckled. Zip and Kurtis both let go of her waist. She wobbled a bit before regaining her balance.

'See.' Lara smiled at them.

'Yeah. Come on then. Let's go home.' Zip grinned. They all nodded and followed. Kurtis went to follow but noticed Lara wasn't following. He turned back to see she hadn't moved.

'You OK?' He asked walking up to her.

'I'll be fine. Just let me…Whoa!' Lara fell backwards. Kurtis quickly caught hold of her. He snaked his arms around her waist and lifted her up.

'Sure.' He smirked.

'OK, fine. I'm not fine.' Lara pouted playfully. Kurtis laughed and picked her up into his arms bridal style. With that, they walked out to find the rest of the group.

After 2mintues, they met up with the rest of the group outside. Anaya was sitting in the car with Alistair and Zip. Amanda stood on the steps watching them. Lara waved at her. Amanda smiled and waved back. She then turned back towards the car and hopped back in. Kurtis reached the car and Zip opened the back row car door. Kurtis slowly got in. Making sure he didn't bag Lara on anything. Once he had finally got in, he gently placed Lara into the seat next to him. They both strapped in and Anaya started the engine.

'Ready?' Anaya called out to everyone.

'Ready.' They replied in unison. Anaya then drove off.

'What CD have ya got?' Zip asked as he searched through the glove box.

'You name it, I got it.' Anaya laughed.

'Awesome. So that means you got Enrique's new album yeah? Insomniac?' Zip's eyes glistened.

'Yep.' Anaya giggled.

'Double awesome!' Zip smiled. He took out one of the CD folders. On the front it said: A-K. Zip smiled to himself before unzipping the folder. Lara watched as Zip searched through the folder. A smile made its way to her lips.

'_Zip and his music.'_ Lara thought to herself with a giggle. Lara shifted in her seat al little before leaning into Kurtis. She loved the way their bodies fit perfectly together. Kurtis, who was looking out the window, slid an arm around her shoulder. She snuggled up. He pulled her even closer to him. Zip eventually found what he was looking for and slipped it into the cars CD player. He skipped to song 2 and 'Push' began to play through the speakers.

'WOO! This is my Jam!' Zip laughed as he danced in his seat. They all laughed at his actions. Kurtis looked down at Lara who seemed to be watching Zip. He smiled to himself. He was lucky to have such a gorgeous woman.

'_I can't believe I managed to get a woman like Lara. She's hot, sexy, smart and an amazing kisser. But why is she interested in me? A middle class guy. She should really be with some upper class guy and be dining in these posh expensive restaurants and being showered in diamonds. Not stuck with me. I can do nothing like that for her. I don't really have the money or anything extravagant.' _ Kurtis thought to himself. He looked back down at Lara. She was looking back at him with a smile.

'What you thinking about?' Lara giggled playfully. He grinned at her.

'Nothing much.' He began to play with her hair.

'Sure looks like nothing.' Lara laughed. He just smiled and continued to play with her hair. He was actually very surprised that she hadn't asked him to stop.

'I hope you haven't fallen out with me.' Lara looked up at him.

'Why would I have?' Kurtis asked. Totally confused at Lara's random question.

'Because when we were back at the hospital, you never really did ask how I was and I though that you didn't like me anymore.' Lara pouted.

'Oh Lara. I could never not like you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I didn't say anything because I was scared.' He smiled at her. She instantly smiled back. She nodded before looking back at Zip. He was swinging in his arms back and forth with the pumping music.

After 10 more minutes, they finally arrived back home. They all hopped out of the car. Kurtis carried Lara up to the manor. She went to reach for her keys but seemed to forget she was wearing a hospital nighty. She mentally slapped herself. Amanda noticed and laughed.

'Don't worry Lara. I got the keys right here.' Amada smiled and took out the Manor keys. She walked over huge wooden doors and proceeded to open them. She eventually got them open.

'Gees. Theses keys should come with an instruction book.' Amanda joked. They laughed at her. She was always being silly. That's why they all liked her so much. They entered the hall. Alistair walked over to the security box. He poked in 5 numbers and the chandelier light turned on.

'Well, I'm gonna hit the hay.' Zip yawned.

'Yeah.' Anaya and Amanda said in unison.

'Lara, do you mind if we stay here the night?' Anaya asked.

'Of course not you guys. Go to room 18. Keys are in the door.' Lara smiled. They smiled back before running up the stairs to room 18. They both entered the room and closed the door with a thump. Alistair was next to leave. He mumbled goodnight before following Zip. Zip slept in room 5 and Alistair in room 6. Kurtis looked at the tired Lara in his arms.

'I think someone's ready for their bed.' Kurtis said playfully. Lara giggled.

'I have never been so tired in my life.' She yawned. Kurtis laughed before heading up the stairs towards Lara's bedroom. He opened the door and the lights automatically came on.

'Didn't know they did that.' He said looking at the lights along the walls.

'There are a lot of things you don't know about this house.' Lara grinned.

'Need any help getting changed?' Kurtis asked as he set Lara down on her bed.

'No thanks. I should be fine.' She giggled again.

'You said that about walking. Look at you. You needed me to carry you.' Kurtis joked.

'HAHA!' Lara said sarcastically but then broke out in real laughter.

'If you're so keen on helping then…' Lara was cut off from her sentence.

'Yes, now what jammies do you want to wear?' Kurtis asked approaching her wardrobe.

'My red silk nighty please.' Lara said as she attempted to get comfy.

'OK.' Kurtis spoke. He pulled open the red oak wardrobe doors to see himself face to face with a rainbow collection of clothes and shoes.

'I didn't know a woman could have so many shoes and clothes!' Kurtis stepped back in awe. He looked back at a smiling Lara. He walked back up to it.

'Red silk nighty, red silk nighty…where are you?' Kurtis said as he searched through the rows of clothes.

'Ah ha!' He smiled in triumph. He held up Lara's requested nighty. He brought it over to her.

'Thank you.' Lara said as he handed it to her. She slid one arm around her back and undid her bra. She threw that onto the floor next to her. She then began to slide the sleeves of her arms. Before it reached her elbow, she looked back at a staring Kurtis.

'Turn round please.' She looked up at him.

'Aww, Lara. Come on.' Kurtis pouted.

'No! Turn round.' Lara glared playfully at him.

'Fine.' Kurtis turned around in defeat. Lara then carried on talking off her nighty. She then picked up the red one and slipped it over her head. She picked up the hospital nighty and threw it across the room. Kurtis watched as it hit the wall and slummed to the floor. He laughed to himself.

'_She likes to do that to people as well.' _ Kurtis thought happily to himself.

'It's OK now.' He heard Lara speak. He slowly turned around to see one of the sexiest things ever. Lara sat up on the bed. Leaning on her elbows. Her long hair flowing onto the bed and over her shoulders. Her long slender legs crossed over one another and the tight nighty holding her perfect figure properly and showing her curves. He stood there gaping at her. Lara tilted her head to the side.

'Well, are you going to speak?' She grinned.

'You…look…amazing.' Was all he managed to say. He was totally awe struck. Lara giggled to herself.

'Why thank you. Goodnight.' Lara began o slide under the sheets. Suddenly a huge pain in her thigh made her wince in pain.

'Gah!' Lara winced. Kurtis instantly jumped to her bedside. He pulled back the covers to see Lara's leg almost bleeding again.

'Where's your first aid?' Kurtis asked examining the wound.

'Bathroom.' Lara gasped as he put pressure on her thigh. Kurtis sprang into the bathroom and began to frantically look for the first aid kit. He managed to find it under some old magazines. He pulled out some bandages and antiseptic.

'This may sting.' Kurtis warned before applying the antiseptic. Lara flinched and winced at the stinging sensation running through her leg. He then began to apply some bandages. He pulled out an injection.

'What's this used for?' He asked. Eyeing the injection.

'Numbs pain.' Lara managed. The pain running through her thigh was a little more painful now. Kurtis nodded before taking it out of its clear casing. H made sure that it was full before injecting the liquid into Lara's thigh. Lara almost cried. The pain she was going through was unbearable. Kurtis packed everything back into the kit before returning it back to its rightful place. He walked back up to Lara and examined the bandage. It seemed to be fine.

'Thank you.' Lara whispered. The pain had settled down immensely. It had done her the world of good.

'How can I ever repay you?' Lara asked. A sly smile appeared on Kurtis's face.

'Well…'He put his right knee on to Lara's bed. He slowly crawled over her. Lara stared up into his blue eyes.

'You could always…'He lowered his voice.

'kiss me.' Lara wasn't able to respond as Kurtis captured her lips in a deep kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. Kurtis stayed on his hands and knees above her. She slowly began tugging at his shirt. Kurtis smiled into her lips and let her pull it off him. They separated for a moment while Lara ripped the shirt off him. They immediately caught each other in a passionate kiss. Lara brought her hands down to his trousers. She began to unbutton them. Kurtis pulled away from Lara and pulled his trousers and boxers off. Lara smiled. They lip locked again. Kurtis began to slide the straps off Lara's shoulders. He pulled it down until Lara used her own hands to flick it off and onto the floor. They pulled away from each other. Desire, lust, love and determination filled their eyes. Both of them saw that in one another. They slid under the sheets and the fun night began.

_Review. I'll update tomorrow hopefully. xxx_


	7. Next Morning

_**Thanks to everyone who gave their support! **__****__** It always puts a smile on my face. So here's Chapter 7.**_

Lara awoke to the sound of bickering. Obviously Alistair and Zip, as per usual. Lara rolled her eyes and rolled over. She was greeted an empty bed. Lara frowned before looking around the room. Nothing, there was no sign of Kurtis. Lara pulled back the quilt and slipped her feet into her blue fluffy slippers. She walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out a black dressing gown. She slid it on a headed for the door. She silently opened it and peered down into the hall. She saw Zip flailing around with Alistair's glasses.

'Give those back!' Alistair moaned.

'Whoa. You got really bad eyesight, man!' Zip said as he put the glasses on.

'Zip, give 'em back!' Alistair tried to grab Zip but had no luck. Lara shook her and smiled at their behaviour. She jogged down the stairs. She cleared her throat to get their attention. Zip immediately too the glasses off and hid them behind his back.

'Zip, give Alistair his glasses back.' Lara smirked.

'Sure thing.' Zip smiled and handed the glasses back to Alistair. He then trotted off to the kitchen. Alistair cleaned the glasses before sliding them back on his face. He straightened his tie and turned to Lara.

'Thanks Lara.' He grinned sheepishly. Lara laughed before heading for the dining table. She was greeted by Amanda and Anaya.

'Top of the morning to ya Lara!' Amanda smiled.

'Morning Lara.' Anaya said as she got up room the table and headed towards the kitchen.

'Morning girls.' Lara spoke loud enough for them to both hear. Lara took a seat opposite Amanda.

'So, sleep ok?' Lara asked.

'Great. The beds are really comfy and not to mention…HUGE! This place is spectacular.' Amanda said in awe. Lara laughed as Amanda waffled on about how great the room was. Just then, Zip re-entered the room with Anaya, both holding plates.

'Shouldn't Winston be…WINSTON!' Lara stood up in shock as she remembered yesterday's previous events. Imaged flickered through her head.

'Winston.' Lara said sadly.

'Lara, it'll be alright. I promise.' Amanda took hold of her hand and smiled softly at her.

'I can't believe I forgot though. Such a close friend and I go and forget that he's in danger. I'm so stupid.' Lara shook her head in disappointment with herself.

'Lara, we'll find him but for now…let's eat.' Zip said as he laid the plates out with Anaya.

'I guess you're right.' Lara whispered. Just then, Alistair walked into the room.

'Hello everyone.' Alistair beamed. They all smiled at him before returning to their activities. Anaya and Zip returned to the kitchen and Lara and Amanda began conversation again. Alistair shrugged before taking a seat next to Lara.

'You ok Lara?' He asked curiously.

'I'm fine. It's just…Winston.' Lara almost sobbed.

'Lara. Listen to me. Winston is perfectly fine. Trust me. They wouldn't kill him for any reason. They need him to get to you.' Alistair smiled softly.

'Well, when they do find me how can we be sure that they won't kill him then? He'll be useless to them.' Lara questioned In a sad tone.

'Lara, you got to stop worrying so much about other people. Look at you, you've died twice because of it. Let go of the past, live in the day and hope for the future. We will find Winston. Now cheer up, breakfast is here.' Alistair smiled as Zip and Anaya walked back in holding sliver trays pilled with bacon and sausage. Lara knew what they were saying was right. But she couldn't find it in her heart to let go of the past. Especially that it was Winston in danger here. Lara smiled slightly before looking up at Amanda. She was gossiping away with Anaya. Zip walked round to her and placed two sausages and 3 bacon on her plate.

'_Just like Winston used to do.' _ Lara thought sadly to herself. Lara decided to cheer up. When she was down, everyone seemed to be. She sat up in her chair and smiled. After Anaya had finished her little chat with Amanda, she placed a few baked beans and some scrambled on Egg on everyone's plate.

'Lara, where's Kurtis?' Amanda asked as she picked up her fork.

'I'm not entirely sure. I haven't seen him.' Lara grinned.

'Oh, he's in the garage, Lara.' Zip said as he walked back out the kitchen.

'I'll go get him.' Anaya offered and walked out the room. Lara nodded to herself before scanning her plate. Everything seemed ok. Nothing burned or undercooked. Perfect. Lara picked up her knife and fork and dug in to breakfast. The others followed suit. A few moments later, Anaya returned form the garage with Kurtis. Lara was to busy in her thoughts to see them enter. Anaya sat between Zip and Amanda and Kurtis sat the other side of Lara. Lara still didn't fell their presence.

'Morning Lara.' Kurtis whispered. Lara almost jumped out of her chair at the sound of his voice.

'Oh, hello Kurtis.' She baffled.

'In your own little world again?' Kurtis smirked.

'Hehe. Yeah.' Lara smiled shyly. Everyone then proceeded to finish their breakfast.

_**Yes it's quite short but my tea is done. Lol. I'll update later today hopefully. Toodles. xx review xxx review xxx review xxx **_


	8. Whereabouts

_**Ahem! It's come to my attention that 184 people have read this story and 433 have read Party Fun! Please review after you have read. How am I meant to know if it's any good, eh? Anyways, on with Chapter 8.**_

'Hey Lara.' Zip greeted as Lara entered his little office. (**Like the one in Legend**.)

'Hello Zip.' Lara smiled.

'Got anything on Winston's whereabouts?' Lara asked as she approached him.

'No, not yet but I did get something on Casino Chardonnay.' Zip pointed at the computer screen. Lara nodded. Zip began to scroll down the page.

'Wait. What was that?' Lara frowned. Zip looked up at her.

'That's what I saw. I don't have a clue what it is though.' Zip grinned.

'Ok, think you can do a little research on this?' Lara tilted her head to the side. Zip looked back at the metallic blue shape floating around the screen.

'Sure thing Lara. I'll get on it right away.' Zip smiled before Lara walked away.

'I think I'll go and have a swim.' Lara thought aloud. Before she reached the door, the phone rang. Lara raised an eyebrow before trotting over to pick it up.

'Hello?' Lara asked.

'Hello Lara.' A deep voice said.

'Who is this?' Lara demanded.

'Just an old friend wanting to see if Lady Croft was OK.' The voice laughed menacingly.

'Listen whoever this is. I'm not in the mood to be messed about.' Lara yelled.

'Oh Lara, sweet, sweet Lara. Bring the package to 15 Highway Avenue. By tonight or Butler Boy here dies.' The voice turned serious.

'Don't you dare touch Winston. If you do I swear I'll rip you to pieces.' Lara spat.

'Feisty today aren't we?' The voice spoke sarcastically.

'Bring it or I'll make sure he dies a slow and painful death.' The voice whispered in a deadly tone. Lara sighed before looking around the room.

'Ok. I'll bring it.' Lara couldn't believe what she was saying.

'Ten o'clock. Sharp.' The voice said.

'Fine. See you then.' Lara deadpanned.

'Make sure I do.' The voice warned. With that, Lara put the phone back down. She ran her hand through her hair and sighed again.

'Zip, change of plans. Can you find where 15 Highway Avenue is please?' Lara asked.

'Sure, why?' Zip frowned.

'I'll be making a little trip there tonight.' Lara stared at the wall opposite her.

'Taking anyone with you?' Zip asked as he searched the internet.

'No. This is between me and someone who is a thorn in my ass.' Lara breathed. She put a hand on her hip before heading up to her room. She didn't feel like swimming anymore.

'Ok Lara.' Zip called put to her as she made her way up to her room.

'Thanks Zip.' Lara shouted back.

'Anytime.' Zip smiled. Lara nodded at him before walking into her room. She jumped onto her bed and buried her face into her pillow. She lay like that for about 2 minutes until Kurtis came in.

'You Ok?' He asked as he closed the door. Lara looked up at him.

'No, not really.' Lara groaned. Kurtis walked over and sat beside her.

'What's a matter?' Kurtis pulled her towards him. Lara leant into him.

'I'm just so stressed with everything. Winston, the artefact, that lame excuse for a human.' Lara sighed.

'Nothing's going right.' Lara pushed away from him and lay back down.

'Correction. One thing is.' Kurtis smirked.

'Oh, and what's that?' Lara asked sarcastically. A sly smile appeared on Kurtis's face. Like it always does. Lara rolled her eyes. She knew what was on his mind. She rolled onto her side to face away form him. She smiled to herself. She loved to tease him. Not matter what her mood was. Her mood was already lightening because of him being there.

'Kurtis, I'm not in the mood.' Lara said as he began to kiss her neck.

'Kurtis, I'm being serious.' Lara tried not to laugh but didn't have much luck. She giggled slightly. She mentally slapped herself and hoped that Kurtis hadn't heard. He had heard her alright. He put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her onto her back.

'Kurtis, later.' Lara smiled.

'No, now.' He said between planting kisses on her collarbone.

'Kurtis.' Lara said trying to sound stern. Kurtis could hear the playfulness ringing in her voice. He slid a hand up her top.

'Kurtis. Not now.' Lara giggled. He started to caress her left breast.

'KURTIS!' Lara yelled. He brought his head up.

'If you didn't wan to do this then you would be pushing me away and trying to escape. Not lying there telling me to stop. I know you want it.' Kurtis smirked.

_**Woo! Review. xxx**_


	9. Getting Closer

_**Hello again. Thank you for all your reviews. There always welcome. I must apologise if Lara seems out of Character in places but, it will make sense why I'm making her act like that soon. Hope you like Chapter 9. And heads up, I'm listening to High School Musical 2 CD so things might get mushy. The music I listen to affects the way I write sometimes. Hehe. Enjoy…**_

'Kurtis, listen to me. We can do this later. I just want to be alone.' Lara ran a hand through her hair. Kurtis lifted his head and puppy dog pouted at Lara.

'No way are you getting through me!' Lara smiled and crossed her arms. The puppy dog pout had always got to her. She thought it was totally adorable. Her mother used to do it to her when she young. She's loved it ever since. Lara was on the verge of giving in.

'No, no, no, no, no, no, AH! Ok!' Lara laughed. Kurtis smiled in triumph. Lara giggled and playfully kicked him.

'Hey!' Kurtis smiled. Lara smirked.

'I thought you liked to play dirty?' Lara smiled seductively. Kurtis almost lost control of himself.

'I do. Just without all the kicking and punching.' Kurtis joked.

'Hmm, I like it though. ' Lara smiled sweetly.

'Come here.' Kurtis pulled at her right arm. Lara pushed herself up and into Kurtis's strong arms.

'I love you Lara.' Kurtis whispered.

'I love you too.' Lara gently bit his ear.

'Gentle now.' Kurtis turned to look at her. Lara closed the gap between them and kissed him lightly. A knock on the door broke them apart. They stared at each other for a moment before Lara sprang for the door.

'Yes?' Lara asked as she opened her bedroom door. Zip stood in front of her holding a piece of paper.

_**Short but I'll write the next one now. Review.**_


	10. Hurt

_**Here we are. Go ahead and read. Thanks. Woot! xxx**_

'This is the place.' Zip said as he held out a piece of paper. Lara grabbed it from him and frowned. She scanned the paper before nodding.

'Ok, thank you.' Lara was about to shut the door before Zip put his hand in the way.

'Do you no where Alistair is?' Zip questioned.

'No, check the study.' Lara said in a hurry. She glanced back at Kurtis who was lying on her bed smirking at her.

'How about Anaya or…Amanda?' Zip poked his head side to side.

'Their out. Shopping.' Lara baffled.

'Ok, Kurtis?' He tilted his head to the side.

'I don't know. Why?' Lara leant against the door frame.

'I'm bored.' Zip smiled.

'Well, go and be bored somewhere else.' Lara sighed.

'Ok.' Zip jogged back down the stairs. Lara shut the door and put her forehead against it.

'What's that all about?' Kurtis spoke. Lara slid the piece of paper into her back pocket before walking over to him.

'Nothing. He's just being a nuisance. As usual.' Lara sat on the edge of the bed.

'What 'bout the piece of paper?' Kurtis continued.

'Something I needed. And that's something you will find out later. Much later.' Lara smiled.

'Ok.' Kurtis muffled as he placed a pillow over his face. Lara raised an eyebrow at him.

'Weirdo.' Lara smirked.

'Hey. Leave me alone.' Kurtis laughed from under the pillow. Lara chuckled before climbing onto him and putting her face into the pillow.

'You comfy like that?' Lara giggled.

'Yep. Just fine.' Kurtis wriggled a bit before placing his hands behind his head. Lara pushed herself up from the pillow and rolled over next to him. Lara waited to see what he did but he didn't even move. Lara rolled her eyes before turning away from him. Kurtis lifted the pillow up slightly and looked over at her.

'Lara. I'm going to get you.' He said in a sing song voice. Lara giggled before edging away from him. He walked his hand over to her waist and tugged at her. Lara refused to move.

'Right.' He said like Mr.Bean. This caused Lara to giggle even more. Kurtis placed the pillow on the floor before getting up onto his knees. Lara glanced up at him. The sunlight was shining on his face. It made him look a golden colour and Lara knew if she was standing up, she would have gone weak in the knees. He brought her legs up into her chest and smiled into them. Kurtis then jumped on Lara and began tickling her.

'Kurtis! NO! Stop!' Lara said in between laughing. She giggled uncontrollably. She kicked out with her legs and tried to grab his hands. No luck. He was just to quick.

'Stop!' Lara laughed.

'Nope.' Kurtis smiled.

'Please. I'll do whatever you want.' Lara begged. Kurtis carried on tickling her.

'Anything?' He asked in a playful voice.

'Yes. Anything!' Lara screamed in laughter.

'Ok, you promise?' Kurtis smirked.

'Yes!' Lara giggled.

'Are you really sure?' He smiled.

'YES!' Lara laughing so much that she began to cry.

'Ok.' Kurtis shrugged and stopped tickling her. Lara gasped for breath.

'You are evil.' Lara smiled. Lara was about to get off the bed but Kurtis pulled her back.

'Now, about that promise.' He smiled playfully. Lara bit her bottom lip.

'Oh no.' Lara smiled.

'Oh yes.' Kurtis laughed. Lara laughed again.

'You can get whatever you want later. But for now, I need to go and see Alistair.' Lara grinned.

'Pwease.' Kurtis spoke in a baby voice.

'NO!' Lara said as she got up off the bed.

'Fine.' Kurtis crosses his arms and turned away. Lara giggled. She walked over to him.

'Kurtis, later. I will keep that promise.' Lara whispered. She then headed for the door. Kurtis watched as she left. He sighed before deciding to go spy on Lara.

Lara strolled over to the study. She opened the door and made her way through the corridor. She reached the end and saw Alistair sitting at his desk reading a novel.

'Alistair.' Lara brought him out of the book and back to reality.

'Oh, hello Lara.' He smiled.

'Hello Alistair.' Lara smiled back as she walked over to the desk. Kurtis watched Lara's every move. He was suspicious of Alistair ever since the day he met him.

'What can I do for you Lara?' Alistair asked as he placed a bookmark in his novel and placed it back in the draw.

'I need you to do a little bit of research for me. On this.' Lara took the pieced of paper out of her back pocket and handed it to him. Alistair nodded.

'Ok, I'll start now.' He smiled.

'Thank you.' Lara whispered. Lara turned back for the door.

'Anytime babe.' Alistair blurted out. He couldn't believe what he had just said. Lara shot back round.

'What did you just say?' Lara asked with wide eyes.

'I…um…sorry, slip of the um…tongue.' Alistair baffled. Lara didn't believe him.

'Alistair, is there something you want to tell me?' Lara took at step forward. Alistair didn't know what to do. He avoided her gaze and looked down at the desk.

'Alistair.' Lara moved forward slightly.

'Lara, I'm sorry.' Alistair spoke in a hushed tone.

'For what?' Lara asked as she walked over to him. Alistair got up out of his chair and stood face to face with Lara.

'For this.' He whispered before leaning forward and capturing Lara in a deep kiss. He slid his arms round her waist and pushed her against his desk. Lara was in shock. She couldn't move whatsoever. Questions were buzzing round her mind. Why was Alistair doing this? Was this even Alistair? I don't feel this was about him, or do I?

Kurtis watched in shock as Lara didn't force away from Alistair. He felt anger and jealousy building up inside of him.

'Bitch!' Kurtis whispered in a deadly tone. He then stormed back down the hallway and back into the hall. He was greeted by a smiling Zip.

'Hey.' Zip smiled but Kurtis totally ignored him. Zip frowned before following him.

'Hey, man. What's up?' Zip called after him. Kurtis stopped and turned to him.

'What's up? What's up?!' Kurtis yelled. Zip was taken aback by his sudden outburst.

'Alistair and Lara is what are wrong with me. He thinks he can just go and kiss my girlfriend and then Lara doesn't even try to push away. Some girlfriend.' Kurtis spat.

'Whoa.' Was all Zip managed to say.

'Yeah. Could you pass a message along to Lara for me?' Kurtis asked.

'Sure dude.' Zip smiled.

'Tell her that it's over.' Kurtis put simply and then headed for the front door.

'Ok, but where are you going?' Zip called out.

'For a walk, I'll be back in an hour.' Kurtis said as he opened the door and left.

'Ok.' Zip spoke to himself.

15minutes later, Lara exited the study and made her way down stairs. She looked over at Zip who was glaring at her.

'What did I do?' Lara raised an eyebrow at him.

'Cheated.' Zip spat. Lara didn't have a clue what he meant by that.

'Cheated? What do you mean?' Lara asked a she walked over to him.

'Oh, I got a message for you. From Kurtis.' Zip crossed his arms.

'Oh, Ok. What did he say?' Lara smiled slightly.

'It's over!' Lara's face dropped immediately. Tears began to build up in her eyes. She turned away. Lara nodded before looking at her watch. It read 7:15pm.

'He went for a walk. He'll be back in 45minutes.' Zip deadpanned.

'I'll be going now.' Lara squeaked.

'Where?' Zip glared.

'Highway.' Lara sobbed. Upon hearing Lara cry, Zip began to feel sorry for her.

'Lara, I…'Zip began but Lara cut him off.

'No Zip. I'll be going now.' Lara ran off to her room. Zip was left in a confused state.

_**There you go. Review and tell me how much you loved it. The story is becoming more and more complicated. Mwahahahahahahahaha! I'll update later. **_


	11. Highway Avenue

_**I know it's been a long time since I last updated but I have been really busy. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter because I might not be updating for a while after this. **_

'_Fine. If he wants to break up with me, let him. He's not some bloody special, relationships…HA! Who needs them? Waste of time.' _Lara thought to herself as she drove down Buckinghamway Road. Her main priority was to reach Highway Avenue before they executed Winston. She would have their heads as trophies if they even touched him. She turned a few corners before a sign saying Highway Avenue came into view.

'Ah.' Lara sighed in relief. She quickly parked the car opposite the abandoned building.

'Ok boys. I'm here and I know you know it too. No games.' Lara smirked as she spoke to the building. Her only answer was the whistle of the wind as it blew her hair slightly. Lara looked around at her surroundings for quick escape routes if they robbed her car.

'Right.' Lara breathed before heading towards the building. Lara raised her left hand and pushed on the door in front of her. It opened with a loud creak before the hinges broke and the door clanged on to the half intact wooden floor. Lara raised an eyebrow and proceeded to make her way in. They place was covered in cob webs. Dead rats and flies lay scattered along the floor and windowsills. There was a crumbled staircase over to her left and a few mucky fire escapes to her right. None of the lights seemed to be on. In fact, 3 of them were smashed. Her eyes trailed over to the windows, they were boarded up.

'Typical.' Lara whispered. She was taken by surprise as she heard a few footsteps in the distance. Lara moved her right hand down to her holster and used her left on to grab her torch out of her backpack. Lara raised her gun and switched the torch on. She saw a few dark figures. Not able to make out any of their features yet though. She stepped forward slowly.

'Lara Croft. I see you came. Wonderful, I'm glad you came alone. Now we can have a little chat. Alone.' The way the man spoke sent a shiver down her spine.

'Fine, where's Winston.' She asked through gritted teeth.

'He's fine for now, but one press of this button and he's a goner.' He said. After a few more steps, they cam into full view and Lara could see who they where. The big bloke stood at the front while five other men, dressed in black suits and reflected sunglasses, stood behind him.

'Here?' Lara placed her gun back in it's holder before taking out a black box from her back pocket.

'No, not here. In my office. Is that it?' He asked, looking at the box. Lara simply nodded.

'Give it to me.' He demanded. Lara stepped back.

'How do I know that once you have the box that you won't try to kill me or Winston?' Lara smiled. He sighed.

'Come on Croft.' The man started walking away. Lara tilted her head before cautiously following him. They stepped out into a narrow hallway. Like the ones in a hospital. The brightness from the lights caused Lara to shade her eyes. The five men laughed. One grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her along the hallway. After a couple of minutes, they arrived outside a big black door.

'Lara, welcome to my office.' She heard him say. He then entered his office. They pushed her in before closing the door. The office was nothing exciting. Basic grey walls, a few filling cabinets, a rotting desk, a half broken chair, murky blue carpet. The look of the place made Lara scowl.

'It's not exactly Croft Manor but it'll do.' The man smiled. Lara nodded slightly.

'Do take a seat.' He pointed at the half broken wooden chair.

'I'd prefer to stand.' She deadpanned. The man eyed her suspiciously before flicking on the radio. The song Come fly with me by Frank Sinatra flowed though the small speakers. Lara raised an eyebrow.

'Beautiful music eh, Croft.' He spoke as he closed his eyes and listened to the music.

'Are we here to listen to Sinatra or are we here to negotiate?' Lara tapped her foot. The man simply smiled.

'Well, I want to do this properly.' He grinned.

'Ok.' Lara said slowly.

'I give you the box, you give me Winston. Deal?' Lara asked. He thought for a moment before nodding.

'Deal. No tricks though.' He warned.

'I could say the same for you.' He chuckled at her remark.

'Got an answer for everything.' He laughed. He was getting on Lara's nerves big time now. She slammed her foot off the floor which caught his attention.

'Listen. Bring Winston to me now.' Lara demanded in a low deadly tone.

'How do I know once I bring Winston you won't try to escape with both prizes?' HE smiled.

'How do I know that when you have the precious box that you won't kill me?' Lara folded her arms.

'Then we're not going to get anywhere.' He frowned.

'Well then. It looks as though I'm going to have to do this the hard way.' Lara smiled dangerously. The man didn't have time to reply as Lara threw herself at him and began to punch the hell out of him. He managed to kick her off. She flew into the back wall.

'Bugger.' Lara scolded. He laughed menacingly. Lara drew her pistol and shot straight at his head. He managed to avoid two of the three shots. The third one got him straight in his head. He fell back against the wall. The room then fell silent. Lara lowered her gun slightly before tip toeing over to him. He lay there motionless before lashings out and kicking Lara square in the stomach. She toppled to the ground in agony. The man scrambled to his feet and pulled open a draw on his desk.

Time to die Croft.' He laughed as he pulled out a dagger. It was about 4inches long and had gold writing all over it. He slowly made his way over to Lara. She seemed to be clutching her stomach and groaning. He slapped her hard on the face before raising the dagger above her head. He brought it down with such force. Everything started to go in slow motion. It was 7inches away, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

_**Cliffy. Oh no! What will happen? I won't update until I get 2 more reviews. Of different people! So don't think you can just send two reviews. Not going to work. Hehe. IF I get them by tomorrow then I will update, but no review, no story. Simply as. **_


	12. The chat

_**Sorry it took me so long to update. I have been really busy lately. I don't know if this chapter is going to be any good but, you're the judge of that so review.**_

'Did Lara already leave?' Alistair asked as he walked up to Zip.

'Yeah, been gone about half an hour.' Zip replied looking up from his computer.

'Hmm. I hope she's Ok. This is really dangerous business she's going into.' Alistair squeaked.

'That don't make any sense. She's done worse.' Zip laughed. Alistair wasn't in the mood to be dealing with Zip's funny side. He had a feeling Lara was in some sort of danger. He needed to know she was Ok.

'Did Lara take her headset?' Alistair questioned. Zip bit his bottom lip before looking at Alistair.

'Umm. I don't think so. I think this was meant to be a 'pop in and back out' kinda job.' Zip shrugged.

'Well it seems that the phrase 'pop in and out' doesn't really suit it. She's been gone a long time and I'm worried. How do we now that she hasn't gone and gotten herself killed?' Alistair raised his voice.

'Chill dude. Lara knows what she's doing.' Zip said trying to calm Alistair down.

'How do you know that for sure? She's got a lot on her shoulders right now.' Alistair yelled.

'How would you know that?' Zip began to shout back.

'Because…I do.' Alistair replied slowly in a quiet voice.

'How?' Zip questioned.

'I over heard Kurtis talking to you earlier and how upset Lara was. Plus, with Winston missing and a crazy man added into the scene, it's pretty bad. Lara shouldn't have to cope with this all on her own. We should be there for her. We need to start seeing through her false smiles and happy faces. We need to see the hurt and pain and try to understand it.' Alistair was on the verge of crying.

'She never ever lets anyone that close.' Zip spun round in his chair and grabbed a headset. Alistair looked at him dumbfounded.

'But you said Lara didn't take her headset.' Alistair spoke.

'I don't know if she did or not. Let's see. Lara? Lara are you there?' Zip said into the headset. He waited a few seconds. Nothing, he tried again.

'Lara, can you hear me? Lara!' Zip began to fell slightly worried.

'Nah man, doesn't look like she took one.' Zip said as he flopped the headset down onto the desk. Alistair held back tears.

'I know something is wrong. I can feel it. We need someone to help.' Alistair squeaked.

'Kurtis? Who am I kiddin' he ain't gonna help. As far as I'm concerned, he's hating Lara at the mo.' Zip groaned.

'Can't he just put the past behind him and agree to the terms that I and Lara are together. It's the way it was meant to be.' Alistair started to sound full of himself.

'Whoa. Excuse me? Back track please. You and Lara together? I don't think so dude. She's got mad, mad affectionate feelings for Kurtis still. Just because it happened doesn't mean you are together now. Man, you got a lot to learn about the ladies.' Zip yawned.

'Well, why didn't she fight back then?' Alistair forced.

'Why did she cry when she knew her relationship was over?' Zip fought back.

'All girls do!' Alistair smiled. Zip didn't smile back. He was getting annoyed with him. He knew that Lara still deeply loved Kurtis. She was truly hurt by his actions. He hoped Kurtis felt the same way.

_**Short but sweet. I'll update later. In about 2weeks. I'm going on holiday to Lanzarote so I expect at least 5 or more reviews. Thank you and see you soon. **_


	13. A whole lot of that

_**Hello again. I'm back from Lanzarote! YAY! Even though I'm really cold and it's going to take me a whole year to acclimatize again…I'm going to be writing more often to get back on track. This chapter might seem a bit off because of two weeks of not being here, so…I'll do my best and I hope you like it.**_

Lara managed to roll out of the way at the last spilt second. The knife dug its way into the floor where her head had last been. Lara leapt over to the window and struggled to open it.

'DAMN!' She cursed as the window did not budge. Lara glanced back over her shoulders to attempt to see what the loony man was doing. To here surprise, he was not there. Lara frowned and slowly turned around. She was afraid to even blink. He could jump out at her at any second and plunge the dagger into her. Something Lara didn't fancy doing at the moment.

Lara scanned the room for any sight of movement. Nothing. Lara began to wonder whether he way really here or had any of it had happened. Lara took one tiny step forward, it was one of the biggest mistakes of her life. She had stepped on a pressure pad and activated the room's defences. Poison darts began to fling out of the walls, the ceiling started to lower. A few small holes opened at the bottom of the walls. Extremely tiny spikes began to fly out of the walls and drove themselves into her ankles. Lara winced in pain.

If anything couldn't get any worse…it did. The floor began to crumble and bits of the wood flew everywhere. Lara retreated back to the window and harshly attempted to open it. The thing simply didn't budge. Lara looked round at the room one last time. The ceiling was inches above her head and the floor was over halfway to reaching her. Lara began to panic for the first time in weeks.

Lara tried the window again. It moved slightly but then fell back into place.

'I didn't really want to do this but…' Lara kicked out at the window until it finally smashed into pieces. With a second to spare, she flung her self out the window and plummeted down towards the ground.

Lara grabbed her grapple hook and attempted to throw it to something where it would stick. After the third attempt, it caught hold of a satellite dish at the side of a hotel.

'Third times a charm.' Breathed Lara. She checked her surroundings before clicking a button and sliding down towards the ground. At the last few feet, Lara pulled the grapple and fell to the ground.

'All in a bloody days work, I should take up knitting.' Lara said to herself as she ran towards a near by street.

'Will you stop worrying. Waling back and forth like a bloomi' lost mouse. Lara's fine! Now sit down! You're bugging me.' Zip yelled from his office. Alistair was by the fireplace that Winston was attempting to light.

'How do you know that?' Alistair yelled back at him.

'Haven't we already gone over this?!' Zip moaned.

'I just worry, ok?' Alistair said as he flopped down on to the sofa.

'To bloody much.' Zip whispered. Alistair didn't seem to notice as he picked up a magazine with a picture of Lara sitting in a tree smiling at the camera. The headline read: **Lara Croft: Why she's our ideal beauty.**

Alistair sighed and stared at the picture.

'Where are you?' He whispered to the picture.

Lara found herself in Corporation Street. There were loads of people buzzing around with shopping bags and a few songs thumping from outside shops. Lara took a few steps before looking down at herself. She was covered in dirt, sweat and blood. Her hair was mangled and she looked awfully tatty. Lara sighed.

'Looks like a bit of shopping is in order.' She smiled before heading into the nearest shop which happened to be New Look.

After about ten minutes, Lara had gathered an outfit, pain for it and was changing into it in the changing rooms. After she was fully dressed, she checked her appearance in the mirror. She wore some boot cut back jeans with a multicoloured swirl going down each side of the leg. She had also picked out a crimson top which was laced at the back and sides. The front was a V neck. On the right shoulder was a black cat with bright blue eyes. She left her boots on though. Lara was quite pleased with how she looked apart from her dirt covered face and mangled hair. She nodded to herself before pulling back the curtain and heading for the bathroom.

She approached the sink and turned on the cold water tap. After a few moments of letting it run, she splashed it over her face. The cold woke her up. She then proceeded to clean her face.

Minutes later she emerged from the bath room looking fresh. Her face clean from dirt and her eyes sparkling. She the decided to head for the Body Shop to buy a brush. She picked out a small purple one, bought the item, found a mirror and attempted to brush her hair. It turned out to be a bit of a battle. It was full of knots and with all the sweat collected, it was a girl's worst hair nightmare.

Five minutes later, Lara finally won the battle with her hair. She decided to leave it down.

'Time to head home.' Lara smiled.

'Shouldn't Kurtis be back by now?' Zip asked to the thin air.

'Who gives?' Alistair grunted.

'Jealous are we?' Zip said amused by the way Alistair was.

'I told you before Zip, why should I be jealous of him if Lara's mine?' Alistair glared at him.

'Because she ain't yours!' Zip argued. Before Alistair could bite back, the front door flew open and Kurtis stepped into the room.

'I needed a walk. 100 better now.' Kurtis smiled.

'Good to hear it.' Zip laughed.

'Hungry?' Zip asked.

'Very! What's on the menu?' Kurtis joked as he, Zip and Winston headed for the kitchen. Alistair sat alone in the silence for a few moments before storming off back into the study.

In the kitchen, Winston was searching through the fridge. Zip and Kurtis were sitting at the dining table having a laugh over what ever they could think of.

'But really, there is something I need to talk to you about.' Zip breathed trying to calm himself down but still couldn't resist laughing. A few minutes later, they finally settled down.

'So what did you want to talk about?' Kurtis asked.

'Lara.' Zip said simply. He watched Kurtis's expression and saw it change to sadness and anger.

'When I passed that message along to Lara, she almost broke down into tears. I mean, she did cry but she was holding it back.' Zip spoke.

'I have one question…Do you love her?' Zip asked seriously. Kurtis looked down at the table.

'Well?' Zip pushed him.

'I…I.…' Kurtis tried to find the right words.

'Spit it out man. Do you?' Zip asked sternly.

'I don't know.' Kurtis whispered.

'You don't know?' Zip asked in disbelief.

'Yes, I don't know.' Kurtis repeated. Zip shook his head before smiling.

'Give it time. You're special to Lara you know. Very special.' Zip smiled.

'What do you mean?' Kurtis frowned.

'I've seen the way she looks at you, how she talks to you, and her body language around you. You're the first person to make her act that way. You practically make her weak in the knees dude. That's why you are special. You made Lara feel happy, comfortable, protected. You don't realise how hurt she really is. But, it's you choice. I ain't gonna pick for ya.' Zip sat back in his chair.

'I…never knew.' Kurtis said in shock.

'Can tell.' Zip replied. Before anyone could say anything else. The front doors creaked open. In stepped Lara. All eyes fell upon her. Zip glanced over at Kurtis who looked in awe at Lara. Zip smiled to himself. Lara slowly made her way over to the stairs and headed up to her room. Kurtis looked over at Zip who just smiled at him. Zip nodded and Kurtis dashed from the table and after Lara.

Lara reached her door and walked inside. She jogged over to her bed and sat down. She reached over to the side cabinet and rummaged through the draws. She didn't know what she was looking for. Just something to do before tea was served. Lara was to busy in her own thoughts that she didn't see Kurtis enter her room. Lara took out a small piece of paper, got up from the bed and headed over to the wardrobe. Kurtis took this to his advantage. He quietly stepped over to Lara. Lara opened the wardrobe and searched for another piece of paper. Kurtis took a few more steps forward. He cursed as one of the floorboards squeaked. Lara frowned but let it pass over. She continued to look for the other piece of paper. Kurtis proceeded to sneak up on Lara. He took a few more steps before Lara shut the wardrobe and turned around. Lara jumped slightly. Not expecting anyone to be there.

'Yes?' Lara asked as she caught his gaze. Kurtis just stared at her. Lara rolled her eyes and walked over to the door.

'Lara…' Kurtis began. Lara turned back to him, crossed her arms, tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at him.

'What?' Lara asked sternly. Kurtis was taken aback by the sternness in her voice. Kurtis shook off the feeling and slowly walked over to her. Lara stood her ground. He paused in front of her before pushing her back against the wall. He took one big step to clear the gap between them. He held Lara up against the wall by placing both of his hands either side of her head. Their faces were inches away from each other.

'So…why did you come back?' Lara whispered.

'Because………I had to know.' Kurtis whispered back.

'About what?' Lara spat. Kurtis smiled slyly.

'If you still love me.' Kurtis whispered into her ear. As he said it, Lara felt a tingle in her stomach and she went weak in the knees. Kurtis seemed to notice and smiled.

'I…I…Wait! You walked out on me!' Lara yelled.

'After you cheated on ME!' Kurtis yelled back.

'Cheated? Cheated! Is it my fault Alistair likes me? Oh, wait. I know. You're just bloody jealous!' Lara screamed.

'Jealous. Why would I be jealous of that thing?!' He argued back.

'Don't call him a thing. He's a human being not some hideous slimy thing like you.' Lara spat.

'How dare you!' Kurtis growled. Lara laughed and slapped him.

'Bitch!' Kurtis whispered dangerously. Lara kicked him in the stomach and ran for the door. Kurtis reached out and grabbed her arm. He pulled her back and kicked her down to the floor.

'AH!' Lara screamed as she hit the floor. She rolled out of the way just as Kurtis went to stomp on her. She quickly jumped up and stood facing opposite him.

'I can't believe I trusted you. Let you in.' Lara yelled.

'That's your mistake. Do not take it out on me!' Kurtis launched himself at her and tackled her to the ground. Lara quickly wrapped her legs around him and pounded her fists into his back. She then leant up and began to claw at the back of his neck with her left hand. Kurtis got up to his feet with Lara still clinging onto him. He went to push her into one of the glass cabinets but Lara kicked the back of his legs and he stumbled back onto the bed. Kurtis quickly gathered his senses and rolled over so Lara was on her back and he was on top of her.

'After all we've been through. You do this.' Lara whispered harshly.

'You started it Croft.' Kurtis said as he stared into her chocolate orbs. He lowered his head and whispered into her ear again.

'So…as I asked before, do you love me?' He whispered. He felt Lara tremble.

'Yes.' Lara whispered in a shaky voice.

_**AWW! Review and I'll update soon. Tell me…More fluff or less fluff.**_


	14. Sorting it out

_**This story is almost over. Don't be surprised if it's this chapter. Probably not though. I've got a great new story coming up. It's set after this story, so it's like a follow on but not the same story line. If you know what I mean.**_

'But you don't. You left. Came back and expected me to be all over you.' Lara tilted her head to the side so she didn't have to look at him.

'I get it Kurtis. Move on. I'm not going to stop you any more. Go and be happy. Forget about me and everything that's happened.' Lara whispered in a soft voice. She felt tears welling up in her eyes.

'Lara…' Kurtis began.

'No. I don't want to be heart broken again. Move on before I get hurt again. Please, if you don't want to be here…I've been hurt to many times. Alex then Terry. I'm so stupid.' Lara let tears slowly roll down her cheeks.

Kurtis felt nothing but sad at this moment. He felt angry at himself for leaving her and hurting her plus the little fight they just had made matters worse for him.

'I never wanted to hurt you Lara.' Kurtis whispered. He gently pulled her face back to look into his eyes. Lara closed her eyes quickly. Before Kurtis could say or do anything, Lara pushed him off her and she rolled off the side of the bed. She got to her feet and sprinted for the door. Kurtis chased after her. Lara raced down the stairs and headed for the gym room.

When she reached her destination she quickly began to climb the fish statues. Something she had only tried on one occasion.

Kurtis finally reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around for Lara. He had no idea where she went. If it wasn't for the huge _bang _that came from the gym room he would have been searching the manor for hours. He headed for the room.

Lara was at the highest part of gym, only a few metres from the glass roof.

'Lara.' Kurtis yelled up to her. Lara simply looked at him before disappearing form sight. Kurtis sighed before climbing his way to the top.

'Lara. Let me talk to you.' Kurtis shouted.

'About what? How you're going to leave me again and then come back a year later.' Lara yelled.

After a few minutes, Kurtis finally got to the top. He jumped back off the ladder and onto the smoky glass platform. He saw Lara standing at the far right corner glaring at him.

'Lara.' Kurtis spoke softly as he slowly walked over to her. Lara tried to back away but glanced over her shoulder to see nowhere she could go.

'I don't want to hurt you. Lara, I care about you a lot. Just let me talk to you. Please.' Kurtis smiled softly. Lara frowned slightly before turning away from him. She could see the pool below. She glanced back over at Kurtis who was frowning in confusion at her. Then it hit him. She was going to jump.

'NO!' Kurtis yelled as Lara jumped. He leapt forward to attempt to grab her. No luck. He watched as Lara plunged into the pool directly below. He didn't see her surface so he dived down. As soon as he hit the water he saw Lara pulling at a lever which opened a round gold gate at the side of the pool. Kurtis swam over to her before she attempted to get away again. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled them to the surface.

'Lara. Are you insane? I only want to talk.' Kurtis asked as Lara tried to wriggle free.

'I don't want to talk.' Lara said simply.

'After all this. You expect me to just sit down and listen to you go on about…' Lara was cut off from her sentence as Kurtis caught her lips in a gently kiss.

_**Yes it's short but I'm bored and running out of ideas. Hehe. I think I might go and watch some Sponge Bob Square Pants and refresh my brain with some new ideas. Remember to review and tell me less fluffy or more fluffy.**_


	15. Loving It

_**The story is not over yet. Hallelujah! GFree you rock. Hope you people enjoy the rest of this story because the next story is going to be 100 awesome. **_

Alistair stared at his blank computer screen. So many questions running through his head and so little answers. Was Lara his? Did Lara like him? Does she hate him? His head began to throb.

'Bloody headaches. I need an aspirin.' Alistair moaned as he got out of his cushioned chair and walked over to the third cabinet to his left.

The doors opened with a slight creak. He pulled out the aspirin box, popped one out, placed it on his tongue and swallowed.

'Give it five minutes…da-di-di-da.' He said in a light tone. He wondered back over to the desk and pulled out his notebook from under several pieces of scribbled on paper.

On the front it had a picture of him, Lara, Zip and Winston standing outside the front gates of the manor. It was taken three months ago. He let out a long sigh before placing the notebook into a draw and closing it.

Alistair's stomach gave out a little rumble.

'Food, food, food.' He breathed. Alistair got back up out of the chair and headed down for the kitchen.

When he got there, he was greeted by a smiling Zip and Kurtis. Upon seeing them, he hurried along to find Winston in the meat locker.

'Need any help Winston?' Alistair asked rubbing the back of his neck. Winston turned around to him.

'Your help with not be necessary Master Alistair.' Winston replied with a smile. Alistair nodded slightly before turning back.

'Oh Master Alistair? If you do wish to help, I would be ever so great full if you could chop the Carrots and place them in the heated saucepan.' Winston called after him.

Alistair popped his head back around the corner and nodded. He was happy he didn't have to go and face them two again.

Back in the dining hall, Kurtis and Zip were happily chatting away. As usual. Kurtis was telling Zip how he thought that he and Lara were hopefully back together.

'Dude! That's awesome! See, I told you. Lara is mad for you. And I know you feel the same way for her. So don't try telling me otherwise. You two were a match made in heaven.' Zip laughed.

'I'm over the moon! She's the sexiest woman who ever lived. I'm glad she's with me. I couldn't imagine her with anyone else. I really regret saying it's over and having the arguments but…that's what couples do I guess.' Kurtis smiled.

'Sexiest woman ever huh? What about Angelina Jolie?' Zip asked.

'Angelina Jolie is totally hot! But Lara Croft is sizzlin'! Lara is first then Angie comes in second.' Kurtis said with a wink. Zip laughed.

'And third?' Zip asked.

'Hmm. Vanessa Anne Hudgens I think. She's cute and all but I'm not sure if she is third. I'll tell you later if I think of anyone else.' Kurtis laughed.

'Is Lara happy that she's number one?' Zip questioned. Kurtis shrugged.

'Ain't told her.' Kurtis smiled.

Lara opened her bedroom door and stepped out onto the cool wooden floor. She wore a black pair of tight fitting really short shorts, a navy blue sleeveless belly top and some black high heel boots that reached her knees. It was a strange outfit but Lara wanted to see the look on Kurtis's face. She loved it. Making him want her and she wouldn't let him. She had grew this new hobby of teasing him every since. To her it was fabulous.

Lara slid down the stairs and in a catwalk manner, entered the dining room. All eyes fell on Lara. She avoided eye contact with any of them and slid into her seat which was two seats away from Kurtis and Zip.

_**Cool. Review and I'll do more.**_


	16. Nothing New

_**Heya! I'm back again. At the end of this chapter I will start to explain my new story so you can start to understand it before reading it. It will help some of you that have questioned about it and got slightly confused. You know who you are. Lol. I'm glad you told me. There is no such thing as a stupid question. As if! Lol. Enjoy this chapter and review please. I will write a lot more if you do. Thanks to all of you that take the time to review to my stories. I'm giving you all hugs! Hehe. **_

'_Now, boys. No staring. It's not polite to stare at a Lady.' _ Lara thought to herself as she watched out of the corner of her eye at the boys staring at her. She let a slight smile tug at the ends of her lips. She was sure they saw it but simply sat back in her chair.

A few minutes past before Zip and Kurtis eventually brought themselves back to reality and stopped staring.

'Whoa Lara, you look fab. Never thought I'd see you in that type of outfit.' Zip beamed. Lara turned her head to look at him.

'Yeah, well. I needed a change. See what reaction I could get out of you boys. I think I scored 10.' Lara smiled.

'Well, you got me staring.' Zip laughed. Lara giggled as Zip got up from the table and went into the kitchen to help.

Kurtis shifted in his seat. Lara avoided eye contact with him. She felt as though he knew that she was teasing him but it didn't change her plan. Kurtis was about to talk but Winston and Zip burst into the room with plates, glasses and cutlery. Winston laid the table while Zip pulled out some Red Wine. He began to start pouring it into the Chardonnay glasses.

Alistair came out of the kitchen carrying several trays of food. Vegetables, Pasta, Lobster, Crusty bread and a mixture of sauces.

Once everything had been dished up and people were sat down, they began to eat. They seating arrangement had changed. Zip now sat where Lara sat with Alistair opposite him. Winston sat next to Lara while Kurtis was opposite her. He could barely take his eyes off her as she ate. He was careful not to let her see he watching her. To him it looked kind of obsessed. Weird thing, but true.

Lara began to carefully pull away at her Lobster. She glanced up at Kurtis who was looking straight at her. She smiled before looking back at her Lobster and laughing slightly.

Everything was quiet apart from the cutting of food and the clanging of glasses. Lara liked the silence but was desperate to talk to Kurtis. Suddenly an idea sprang to mind.

'_Kurtis?' _Lara asked inside her head. She saw him look up at her. Lara smiled at his confused expression.

'_I like the quiet so I decided to speak to you this way. Is that Ok?' _Lara asked.

'_Sure. Got an interesting conversation in mind?' _Kurtis asked.

'_Not really. I was hoping you could think of something.' _Lara giggled. A sly smile appeared on Kurtis's face.

'_Do you remember that promise?' _

'_Yes I do Kurtis. I know that I have to make it up to you. What did you have in mind for that anyways? One of my cars, weapons, artefacts?' _Lara asked.

'_Something better.' _By the tone of his voice in her head, she knew what he had in mind.

Half an hour later, when everyone had finished their meal, had pudding and drank all the left over wine, Winston began to clean the table and wash up. Alistair helped while Zip went back to his office to play some computer games.

Lara walked over to the coffee table and picked up a magazine. She briefly flicked through the pages before heading for her room. Kurtis followed her up.

Before she opened her door, she turned to Kurtis.

'I was hoping to get some quiet and read through this magazine.' Lara smiled.

'I have different ideas.' Kurtis smirked. Lara raised an eyebrow at him teasingly before opening her bedroom door and stepping in. Lara went to shut the door but Kurtis put his hand in the way.

'Kurtis, what do you want?' Lara asked slightly aggravated.

'Nothing much. Can I just come and sit in your room for a bit?' Kurtis asked.

'You're really strange.' Lara said as she opened the door to let him in. Once he was in, he immediately flopped down onto her bed. He lay there watching her with a smile on his face. Lara shook her head and sighed before heading over to the black leather couch. She sat down and began to read the magazine. She immediately got caught up into one of the stories. **What would you do if you won an million pounds?**

It was slightly weird but Lara liked to see different people's replies. Some say they would go live abroad. Others want to help the world. Some loonies say they would bribe the world and become the world leader and be superior to all.

Some of them made Lara laugh. Kurtis watched her the whole time. Lara felt his gaze upon her and it bugged her slightly.

'Do you mind?' Lara asked looking up from her magazine.

'What?' Kurtis asked.

'Staring at me, stop.' Lara said quickly.

'What's wrong with that?' Kurtis frowned.

'It's slightly annoying and if you carry on I will have to kill you.' Lara smiled before looking back down at her magazine.

Kurtis didn't stop, it made him look at her even more. If he annoyed her to much, maybe she'd get up of the couch and come over to slap him or something. Then he would be able to get his promise that he was dying for.

Lara felt her brain ticking. She tried to put it off but jut didn't manage. She forcefully slammed that magazine shut and threw it onto the seat next to her. She jumped up from the couch and stormed over to Kurtis.

'What part of DON'T STARE AT ME DON'T YOU INDERSTAND?!' Lara yelled. Kurtis simply blinked a few times. This ticked Lara off even more.

'You are the most annoying excuse for a bloody flea.' Lara growled.

'Hey! That's not nice to call your boyfriend.' Kurtis pouted. Lara rolled her eyes.

'Boyfriend. HA!' Lara laughed.

'Then what am I? Just an object in your life that's there when you want it and then can be thrown into a box until next time?' Kurtis asked as he got up of the bed and walked over to Lara. Lara folded her arms.

'Is that what I am to you?' Kurtis asked again. Lara shook her head. She started to back up against the wall.

'Then what?' Kurtis whispered as he stood inched away from her.

'What do you think?' Lara breathed.

'I'm not sure anymore.' Kurtis replied. Lara tilted her head to the side.

'Neither am I.' Lara whispered. Kurtis slowly before turning for the door. Lara reached and grabbed his arm before he could go anywhere.

'Where are you going?' She asked in a serious tone.

'It seems that I'm not needed here and that I'm nothing to you anymore. I have no reason to be here Lara.' Kurtis spoke without any emotion in his voice. Lara trembled before pulling him back to her.

'I don't want you to leave.' Lara whispered.

'I thought I was nothing?' Kurtis deadpanned.

'That's what you said, not me. Don't turn this around so it makes me look bad.' Lara warned.

'Oh, so know it's all about you?' Kurtis fumed.

'No! It's about us!' Lara yelled.

'Us? Us! What us, there is no us. It seems to me that our relationship is over. For the past few weeks we seemed to be struggling with this whole relationship thing. We've had non-stop bickering, fighting and ignoring each other!' Kurtis argued.

'Let's not forget who walked out on whom!' Lara raged.

'I clearly had a good reason!' Kurtis yelled. Lara stopped herself from biting back. She simply stared at him. Lara moved her gaze down to the floor. Kurtis stepped closer to her and gently pulled her face up to look at him.

'We should stop this. We're only hurting each other. Something I never wanted to do since the first time I met you in the Louvre.' Kurtis whispered with a gentle smile. Lara closed her eyes and a lone tear from her right eye rolled down her cheek. Lara opened her eyes again to look at him.

Kurtis slowly leaned forward and captured her in a kiss. Lara brought her hands up around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Kurtis pushed her back onto the wall and deepened the kiss. Kurtis pulled her into his arms bridal style; never breaking the kiss; and placed her onto the bed. Lara pulled him gently so he climbed on top off her. Kurtis broke off and began to kiss her neck. He slipped one hand behind her back and started to unclip her bra. He then slid it off her arms and threw it to the floor. Lara then flicked off her boots and socks and tugged at his t-shirt until it finally came off.

The rest of the night was pure bliss.

_**I'm tired now so I will continue tomorrow. **_

_**New Story: Lara will be in a movie. It's set in the Tomb Raider world so don't worry about that. Lara has been asked to take the role of one of the main characters. **_

_**!!! LARA IS NOT A DIFFERENT PERSON IN THIS STORY. SHE IS SIMPLY GOING TO BE IN A MOVIE. YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHN YOU READ THE FIRST CHAPTER!!! Thank you and goodnight.**_


	17. The letter

_**Hello my little purple turtles! Ha! This is the last chapter. I know, said isn't it? No need to worry. As I've been mentioning, there is a follow up which I'll be working on straight away. Read and Review or no more stories out of me for a while. Review or pay the price. Lol.**_

Lara sat on the couch reading a magazine. She was to caught up in the mag that she didn't notice Alistair slip out of Zip's office.

'Um, Lara?' Lara looked up to see Alistair standing a few feet away from her.

'Yes?' Lara asked as Alistair came and sat next to her.

'I would like to apologise for my previous actions. I had no right to be like that and I hope that you'll forgive me.' Alistair spoke in a sad voice.

'Alistair, you have nothing to apologise for. People do silly things every now and then. Even I mess up. I don't really blame you, just a stump of the moment. Sometimes your feelings can over power you and make you do stupid things. I can understand. You don't need to think or worry about it any longer. Friends?' Lara smiled softly. Alistair nodded and embraced Lara in a gentle hug. They smiled at each other before seeming to forget everything and start up a new conversation.

'So, now that everything is forgotten…have you heard about the new summer fashions?' Alistair asked.

'Totally random question, but yes I have. White denim shorts and tight black vests are back in.' Lara smiled and laughed.

'Yeah, seems funny that you're interested in fashion though Lara.' Alistair chuckled.

'I come across it in my magazines. Hard to miss actually.' Lara picked up the magazine she was just reading and opened it to the page. It was full of pictures of clothes and famous models. Loads of colour and headlines.

'Whoa, see what you mean. Well, if it's not noticeable and interesting, who going to be bothered in reading it?' Alistair joked.

'I agree, no one reads boring things anymore.' Lara nudged Alistair.

Out of the blue, Zip hobbled out of his office and over to Lara.

'Hey Lara, we received some snail mail this morning and these were for you. Alistair I left yours in the library.' Zip said as he passed Lara several envelopes. Alistair nodded at Zip.

'Thank you.' Lara smiled. With that, Zip hobbled back into his office. Lara flicked through the letters before opening the first one.

'Dear Miss Croft, do you need a personal agent? I'm here…' Lara read aloud before deciding it was junk. She flicked it onto the table before looking at the next letter.

'Lara, unfortunately Angelina Jolie could not take the part of Jane Smith in the upcoming movie Mr and Mrs Smith. We debated amongst ourselves before coming to a conclusion that you would be perfect for the roll. You have everything this character need. Attitude, sassiness and beauty. If you are interested, come down to Los Angeles as soon as possible. Thank you Lara, hope to hear from you soon.' After reading the letter, Lara was left amazed and confused.

'OH MY GOD LARA!' Alistair squealed like an over excited girl. Zip came dashing out of his office and Kurtis ran down from out of Lara's room. Lara looked over at Alistair and smiled.

'Should I?' She asked him.

'YES!' Alistair laughed.

'But what about everything else?' Lara shrugged.

'You need a break and I know you want to do it.' Alistair smiled.

'Mind explaining what's going on?' Zip asked confused. Lara passed the letter over so that he and Kurtis could read it.

After a few minutes of debating over whether she should do it, the pressure of the 3 men around her made her give in. This was strange.

A few hours later, she decided to go off and find Winston to tell him the news. She found him in the garden. He was delighted when she told him.

'I hope everything goes well my Lady. I shall take good care of the mansion while you are gone.' Winston congratulated.

'No no Winston. You are coming with us.' Lara laughed.

'But…I…' Winston babbled.

'The house will be fine, I'll get Lucy and Sasha to look after it. They always offer anyway. Pack your bags. We're leaving as soon as we can.' Lara said as she headed back for the house.

The next day, Lara wondered down the stairs to be meted by the all the boys and loads of suitcases.

'Cab's out side Lara. Ready?' Zip asked. Lara nodded and they all headed out with their suitcases. They loaded the taxi and got in.

This was like a dream that Lara was going to enjoy.

_**Short but, what the heck. I'm looking forward to writing the next one! Halleluiah! Love you lots! Review please.**_


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